Cleaner and Responsible Consumption (Jun 2023)
Modeling consumer preference on refillable shampoo bottles for circular economy in Metro Manila, Philippines
Abstract
The transition to a Circular Economy (CE) depends on several factors, such as the implementation of circular business models. Although circular business models were developed, there are socio-cultural distinctions that need to be considered. One such distinction is the sachet culture of the Philippines. The country's consumers use single-use sachets for daily needs, including body care and hygiene. As the local sachet culture lead to significant waste emission to the ocean, designing circular business model for switching to a circular product (e.g., refillable shampoo bottle) is a key measure towards sustainable societies. The design of this business model, however, will need to consider consumer preference. In this sense, modeling consumer preference provides insights on how enterprises can design consumer-centric circular business models. The present study modeled consumer preference between single-use plastic shampoo sachet and refillable shampoo bottles through binary logistic regression, considering responses from 457 consumers of Metro Manila, Philippines. The independent variables used were the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, product channel, and usage. The dependent variable was consumer preference between using sachet or refillable bottles shampoo. The model indicated a good fit with a McFadden R2 of 0.255. The model identified age, gender, education, environmental awareness, budget, daily use, and retailer as statistically significant independent variables. The variable 'environmental awareness' attained the highest significance for socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Meanwhile, the variable 'retailer' attained the highest significance for product channel and usage. The two variables had the highest influence on consumer preference. This study recommends enterprises to focus on utilizing malls as the product channel and on ecolabelling of products. Future research works may use the model in integrating consumer preference on circular economy scenarios. Enterprises may also use the model in designing circular business models suitable for the target market.
